Gone are the days of tenants slipping rent under their landlords’ doors. Modern technology makes it possible for landlords to accept online rent payments, rather than taking live checks.
Some landlords are still living in the 20th century, though — still accepting live rent checks and managing an analog process in a digital world. At HUNTAHOME, we are the leading providers of DFW property management services. We’ve seen first hand the difference that accepting digital payments can make across a landlord’s portfolio and investment business.
Are you still taking traditional checks? If so, here are 8 compelling reasons you should switch to online rent payments.
1. Minimize Late Payments
For tenants, paying rent online is fast and easy compared to driving to a landlord’s home or office to hand over a check. Because online payments are fast and easy, your tenants are much more likely to pay on or before the first of the month.
Naturally, this reduces the number of late payments. You’re happy because the rent comes on time, and your tenants are happy because they don’t have to find time to visit your home or office.
2. Reduce Mistakes
When transactions take place online, fewer mistakes are made. And, to the extent that mistakes do occur, correcting them is far easier than with traditional checks.
For example, the online payment process can include a confirmation page where tenants can double-check the amount before submitting. And, if a tenant does mis-enter a payment amount, it’s easy for landlords to use the payment portal to issue a partial refund.
3. Pay From Anywhere
Online rent payments mean that your tenants can pay from anywhere in the world. Is your tenant on a work trip? He or she can still pay online. Is your tenant spending a few weeks out of town in summertime? Paying rent is just a click away.
In years past, tenants would have to remember to pre-pay rent before leaving on work trips and vacations. Of course, few people are thinking about rent when they are preparing to leave town for extended periods of time. Online payments solve this problem.
4. Track With Ease
Tracking rent payments is important in the landlord-tenant relationship. And digital payments make it far easier to track who’s paid and who hasn’t at any given point. You can even use automation tools to send email reminders if and when someone fails to pay on time.
Online payments also create an audit and dispute resolution trail. This can be incredibly helpful if you’re having issues with a tenant, or if, God forbid, you’re going through the eviction process with a tenant.
5. Automate
Opting for online payments allows you to fully automate the process. As noted above, you can schedule email reminders leading up to the payment due date, and you can configure other messages for tenants who fail to pay on time.
Tenants can automate on their end, too. They can schedule for rent money to come out of their checking accounts automatically on the first of each month, which further eliminates late payments and mistakes.
6. Create Better Tenant Experiences
Landlords benefit from online rent payments, sure, but tenants appreciate them, too. Again, the days of actually traveling to a landlord’s physical location and dropping off a live check are long gone. Anyone would rather pay online.
This can actually serve as a selling point when it comes to marketing and leasing your properties. All else being equal, tenants are going to choose the property that allows for online payments over the one that does not.
7. Enhance Security
Online payment tools also make the process far more secure than in previous years. The leading vendors of online payment tools spend a disproportionate amount of time ensuring that their payment portals meet the highest security standards.
8. Reduce Overhead
You can also reduce your overhead when you choose online payments. Think about all of the time and energy required to accept live checks, track payments and make deposits. At the beginning of each month, managing rental payments feels like a full-time job.
Not anymore. With online payments, you can fully automate the process so that the first of the month is just like the rest of the month. If and when something comes up, like a tenant fails to respond to rental payment reminders, manual intervention may be required. Other than that, online payments put the entire process on cruise control.
Bonus: Setting Up Online Payments is Simple
Here’s one last reason to start taking online payments: They are incredibly easy to set up — if you have the right management partner.
At HUNTAHOME, we are the leading provider of property management in Dallas and Fort Worth. We provide our clients with a full suite of property management services, including the establishing and managing of online payment options. If you’re looking for the right DFW property management partner to help with online payments and other needs, we’re ready to talk.
Contact us today and learn more about what HUNTAHOME can do as your provider of property management in Fort Worth and Dallas.